I think many of us have experienced this. It does not diminish your disappointment, or anger; we all commiserate with you. I found perhaps one of the very last surviving Club Glass drip coffee makers from WWII when Club Aluminum bought Inland Glass because of metal rationing. The stupid woman shipped it in the thin paper box that was supposed to be overwrapped in a carton. I could hear the broken glass as I lifted it off the porch. I, too, told her I would pay extra for secure packaging. I think it is largely a problem with younger people who are used to plastic and not used to doing anything for themselves like packing and mailing. As you said, it is heartbreaking how something that survived for so long can be destroyed so quickly by carelessness or a willfully slipshod attitude. She refunded my money but did ask that I return the little instruction pamphlet to her.
While we are on the topic, this is a very bad time of year to buy on eBay and have stuff delivered by UPS. Twice I have had merchandise show up as "delivered" according to UPS when it was not. In one case, the slimey seller did not press the case. In the other, the nice lady got on UPS's tail and had them do a search. It was found on the truck. The driver was accumulating some gifts without having to shop for them, although I don't think a few Centura bowls would have made that great a present, but they were packed in a large box to protect them so he might have thought he really had a treasure.
